Archive for month: March, 2009

In line with our talk about the wonders of the Windows operating system, I’ve got a mixed bag of news. On April 14 of this year, Microsoft will end support for Windows XP, Office 2003 and Exchange 2003. For the majority of the Certified Legal Nurse Consultants out there, it’s the support for XP and Office 2003 that will hurt.

As I've grown older I've learned to appreciate the difficulty of keeping my body (and mind) in great physical (and mental) shape. I hit the gym three days a week to lift weights with a trainer. On the odd-date days I really stretch myself by doing yoga or speed-walking to the Starbucks a couple of miles from my home. As my age has increased so has my strength and muscle-mass. I only wish I'd been as dedicated when I was in nursing school.

In this information age where we are constantly overloaded with garbage in garbage out, I am surprised to be still thinking about an article I read five months ago in Fortune magazine, "Why Talent Is Over-Rated."

If you're reading Vickie's Blog and my Tech Tips, from the FeedBlitz email you receive, you're only seeing part of the picture. Sure it's easy to read from the email, but try this: click the title "Vickie's Blog" under the FeedBlitz logo in the email, you'll then have access to not only the full article (and any photos) but you can also:

On February 4th I gave an assignment for all Certified Legal Nurse Consultants attending the 2009 NACLNC Conference to go see the movie Slumdog Millionaire and to identify Jamal's maverick entrepreneurial moves. For those of you who couldn't join us in San Antonio here's a brief overview of my conference opening.

I live in what could almost be described as a pastoral setting. Although I live in Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S., I actually live in a city within the city of Houston. It's a small neighborhood with its own fire and police departments. On Saturday mornings, you can watch the hunky firemen wash and wax the fire trucks. We've got a couple of little league and soccer fields and when the weather's nice the morning air is filled with the sounds of sprinklers and the evenings are filled with the sounds of children having fun and engaging in organized chaos.

When it's your first time, everything is exciting. Sure you're nervous, but that's a good thing, like the way you feel waiting in line for a roller coaster. Your knees are knocking and you're thinking "I don't know if I really want to do this." Then you go on the ride and squeal, "Wheee! That was fun! Let's do it again." When you first start a new business, a new quilt, a new marriage, even the little things are exciting ("Gosh that's a great thimble, honey! Can I try it on?"). But how do you sustain such excitement for 3 years or 30 in your legal nurse consulting business, not to mention in your relationships...with your attorney-clients and subcontractors?

If you've moved to Microsoft Office 2007 with its suite of upgrades, enhancements and head-banging, you've probably noticed the so-called "Ribbon." This replaced all the good, old-fashioned, easy-to-use command buttons in Office 2003. I've been using this suite for about 10 months now and still misplace commands and I never remember where the darn "advanced options" can be found. If a techie is flummoxed, what's a legal nurse consultant to do?

My heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to all the Certified Legal Nurse Consultants who attended our successful 2009 NACLNC Conference in San Antonio. Our sell-out gathering was a spectacular event, and I hope you had as much fun as I did. It was great to see and talk with all of you again.